Apple Self-Driving Cars Gets Test Run Permission in California

Apple has just obtained the official permission to test its self-driving cars on the roads of California. It gives us the clearest confirmation that the iPhone-maker is serious about autonomous vehicles. With this, Apple secures its place among companies like Alphabet (Google), Ford, Volkswagen, Tesla, etc. to pioneer self-driving technology in the world.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles approved Apple’s appeal to test autonomous driving technology with 2015 Lexus RX 450h hybrid SUV. This will allow the company to perform a test run on the roads of California without any additional authorization. The permit also allows up to six peoples to take control of the test vehicles if required.

Internally known as the Project Titan, Apple’s self-driving car technology is a super secretive program. The company popularly known for iPhones and iPads is yet to officially acknowledge the presence of this project. However, in October, Apple’s Chief Executive, Timothy D. Cook stated, “We are always looking at new things, and the car space, in general, is an area that it’s clear that there are a lot of technologies that will either become available or will be able to revolutionize the car experience.”

Some analysts suggest that Apple might have discarded the plan to manufacture and sell cars like Tesla. Instead, the company wants to develop an advanced autonomous transportation platform. While the iPhone-maker remains tight-lipped about its ongoing research and development, we can’t do anything but rely upon speculations and reports.

While all of these are going on in the USA, we don’t expect the self-driving cars to come to India any soon. This is mainly due to the unpredictability of Indian roads. However, one of the country’s largest company, Tata has announced to test its ‘Elxsi’ autonomous vehicle platform on the roads of Bangalore.

Shuddhahnik is a connoisseur of technology. Writing for tech related stuff is his passion. He is always aware of the latest happenings in the tech industry. In his free time, he loves to fiddle with different Operating Systems and software, assemble desktops, root and flash custom ROMs on Android devices.